"Please don't blog about my bowels."So I've been thinking about coupons lately. I mean, I'm someone who prides herself on being frugal - if your definition of frugal is buying way too much cheap stuff - so I don't know why I haven't considered coupons. Probably because it sounds like a pain - clipping them, remembering them, standing in line an extra five minute while my cashier tries to understand them.
But it's come to my attention that I like money and the things that it buys. Thenceforth and heretososeems, I should try and save my money for important things like shoes and not waste it on silly items like bread and milk.
But where does one begin to coupon? Do you still clip them or is it all online? (I feel like a senior citizen trying to send a text message.)
Is it worth it?
Also, is anyone giving out money? Because I like that idea even better.
22 comments:
Go to www.pinchingyourpennies.com then click on "grocery guide". You can put in your zip code and it will tell you the best deals of the week at your local grocery stores. Also Walgreens and Rite Aid also give away "free stuff" with their rebate program. It's all online now.
Also tons of coupons online. Check out Bettycrocker.com and boodle.com
I don't subscribe to the newspaper, but I try to find deals then add a coupon on top of it, and stuff can be pretty cheap!
Happy shopping!
I love a good bargain but can't bring myself to clip coupons. Good luck and I can't wait to hear the words of wisdom that is sure to be posted here so thanks for bringing this up.
the coupons they print out with your receipt at Target are my favorites, naturally. not only because i use most of that stuff anyway, but also because I don't have to search and snip them myself - they just hand them to me...and then I refill my Dr Pepper on my way out - heaven indeed.
Most of the coupons I see are for junk food. Or novelty stuff. Which I don't normally buy. So if I buy it because I have a coupon, I'm actually losing money I wouldn't normally be spending.
So for me, they're not worth the headache.
But do let me know when you find someone who hands out cash so I can get me some of that. (And I don't want to have to give them my plasma in exchange. Been there, done that.)
I'm an on-again-off-again coupon user. I look through the coupons in the newspaper and clip ones I know I will use. But I usually forget to use them. There is often fine print, and it really is time consuming to go through the coupons and make sure you're using the right ones and buying the right stuff. So I'm with Emily on this one... it's usually not worth the headache.
There are a few websites now that let you "load" coupons onto your frequent shopper card. That's pretty awesome, and it works!
In any case, right now I'm "on-again" with coupons. A couple of days ago I saved an extra $15 (WAY more than usual), but it took me probably 15 minutes of extra grocery shopping time plus LOTS of prep time. For example, I got four boxes of good cereal for $0.75 each (combining coupons with coupons with store sales). And the week before it was probably about $7. It adds up, but I often think my time is more valuable than the measly savings.
I like the idea of coupons and I've used them, but I got them the old fashion way, from the Sunday paper.
However, we are still waiting for that long lost extremely rich uncle to kick the bucket and name us his heirs. But until that happens, I guess I'll have to use the advice previously posted.
Here's my super-scientific method for coupons. Search Sunday paper for coupons I might actually use. Spend 10 minutes looking for the scissors. Finally resort to just ripping them out. Place them in my black hole, I mean purse, or my to-do pile, aka Mount Everest. Find them 3 months later, after they have expired. Place them in recycle bin. Repeat.
There are a tons of places online to print coupons, We we also get them in the paper. A local store had cereal (General Mills) for $1 a box, and then I had a coupon for $1 of 2 so that made them 75 cents each. worth it say! The same sale had canned frosting for $1 a can and I had a 50 cents off 1. 50 cents for frosting - good deal! Then at the check out I got another coupon for cereal since I bought the cereal.
There are a lot of coupons for stuff I never buy, so I don't even bother clipping them.
I too love the Target coupons.
coupons.com has been good to me, lately. i highly recommend it.
My method is just like Liz's. I just spent half an hour the other day throwing away expired coupons. I'll be checking in for more advice cuz I need it!
My favorite coupon sites are:
smartsource.com
boodle.com
Remember that Target doesn't accept coupons printed from a home computer--only manufacturer coupons and Target coupons. Wal-Mart will take almost anything, though.
I agree with acte gratuit, most coupons you will find are for junk that I usually don't buy in the first place. I do, however, browse all the sale ads before I go shopping. Walmart will price match anything, and I think a lot of other stores are starting to do the same. It takes me maybe 5 min. because I just browse looking for my common items, but it can make a big difference.
Another thing I've started doing that has freed up some time and money is I started a dinner club with 3 other girls in my ward. We each have a night that we make dinner for everyone and deliver it to each persons house uncooked that afternoon. Since we all have small families each of us only needs half of most recipes that are designed usually for families of 6. I only have to cook 1 night of the week (since we usually spend all the money we've saved on eating out on Friday and Saturday)and it really doesn't take much longer to double a recipe. Plus it really is a little cheaper to buy a bunch of the same thing instead of all the little ingredients for 4 different meals each week, especially if you plan your night to cook around what is on sale that week.
I have some friends that are WAY into the rebate shopping thing at Rite Aid, Longs Drugs, and Walgreens. When you go to the store you can pick up one of their coupon magazines and in the middle they have a list of all the items with a full rebate. So, you basically get stuff for free! It's a good way to stock up on medications and other drug store items that you don't use all the time but might one day come in handy. And it's FREE!
i'll have to send my husband over here to check out all the tips. just last night, he asked if i wanted to start using coupons. i don't like to use them. too much hassle to find them, remember to take them to the store, find the right product, and then actually hand them to the cashier instead of leaving the silly thing in my purse. anyway, he said he could find them for me. :) isn't he sweet? maybe one of these ideas will make it easier for him. :)
Hey- first, I got your email. THANKS! I have been swamped but I'll reply soon.
As for coupons- I have recently started using them (in the last couple of months). I have a label on my blog....check it out. I used to be pretty judgemental and think only people who clipped REALLY needed to save. Shame on me. Now that I see I can save A TON it's worth it. Like today, I went to the store- before coupons and the club card my bill was almost $80. After it ended up being $25 and I got 2 free movie tickets. I have a whole system (again, look at my labels)...and it does take some time and effort but really it's sooo worth it. Combine it with meal planning and it's amazing.
Do you have a CVS by you? That's where I've really stocked up- over $600 of free stuff in 6 weeks. Really. And it's all necessities- toothpaste, shampoo, diapers, razors, deodarant. You get the idea. I am a convert to coupons...
my favorite sites are:
grocerygame.com
moneysavingmom.com
freebies4mom.com
If you're a target fan (I am big time):http://www.attentiontargetshoppers.blogspot.com/
Hope that helps.
i'm with mique... www.thegrocerygame.com is the best. but i'm kinda lazy at it. no, not lazy - but i'm only do that one site. i don't have time or energy to do the rest. the grocery game explains everything and about "stockpiling" the key to coupons. it's really not that hard, or time consuming. i just have a little coupon file, divided up with a section for condiments, cereals... what ever works for you. so i cut, & file & then just pull out whatever is on the list. pretty simple.
Okay--you don't know me but I know coupons so here it goes. www.couponsense.com is a great site to get started BUT it costs money--crazy but if you really do the program you will save ALOT. They have a wonderful easy way to organiize your coupons, and each week they will tell you where all the great deals are, and which coupons to clip--so you only clip coupons if you are going to use them! Lots of time saved there--I actually quit for a while since we recently had a baby, but when I was doing it we NEVER paid for toothpaste, shampoo, toothbrushes, salad dressing, and lots of other stuff--plus lots of free stuff and really cheap stuff--the message board on the site is amazing as well--it is at least worth checking out, but it is a committment to do coupons--it will probably take about 3-4 months before you get the groove going and really start to save big. Now I am just doing some on line here and there. Okay, I'm done.
i think coupons are a big waste of time....I buy mostly generic which is cheaper than name brands with coupons. I once convinced my husband that i needed the sunday paper it was worth it to purchase. I clipped out a handful of coupons, but not for things I needed or used, but for things that looked interesting. I put them in my wallet and forgot about most of them and they expired. waste of time...and I consider myself a frugal shopper.
I used to coupon about 8 years ago, saved $, had weird stuff in my home storage,(but that still made me feel good about myself...) and threw most of it away when we moved last summer. I really only used a few things that were good deals with couponing. But I am going to try the sites that your fans have suggested. that might work! XOXO
also, I unfortunatly also save a lot on a lot of cheap stuff I don't need...
coupons are for suckaz
I do Coupon Sense, and I have to say that I only started in March and I'm blown away. I don't have time to write about it all now, but I am seriously buying sooooo much stuff with coupons and I'm going to blog about it soon. Bottom line: I've bought over $2500worth of stuff for about $500 in just over 2 months. I don't buy anything I won't use (okay other than some glucose monitors, but I actually made money on the deal so why not). I do have a lot of extra toothpaste and some other things, but I'm going to give my extra stuff to people I know who need it. My family thinks I've gone crazy but I think it's fun. And I never, ever used coupons before this. I don't know how readily available Coupon Sense is where you live, though. But let me know if you want to know more. It's addicting I say!
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